Gondola car loader

ABSTRACT

A gondola car loader includes a chassis moveable along the top edges of adjacent gondola cars in a direction of the railroad track on which the cars are located. Four beams, pivotably mounted at their centers to the chassis, each carry wheels at both ends thereof for supporting the chassis on the cars. The beams are adapted to be pivoted to selectively engage the wheels with the top edges of the sides of the gondola cars, thereby facilitating motion of the chassis across the gaps between adjacent cars.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Railroad gondola cars are widely used to transport a variety of cargos.Several techniques are known for loading and unloading the cargos.

Gondola cars may be loaded and unloading by hoists, cranes or conveyorswhich are stationarily mounted with respect to railroad tracks on whichthe gondola cars run. This arrangement requires that each gondola car besequentially positioned sufficiently close to the stationary loader topermit the loader to reach the car. Where a coupled line of gondola carsis to be loaded or unloaded, the line of cars may have to be moved, eachtime one or a few cars have been unloaded in order that the loader mayreach additional cars. This requires that a traction engine beperiodically operated throughout the loading or unloading of a line ofcars.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide agondola car loader which is moveable with respect to a stationary lineof gondola cars.

Gondola cars may be loaded and unloaded by mobile loaders which travelalong the ground adjacent to a line of gondola cars. This loadingtechnique has a disadvantage in that the mobile loader must be providedwith a right of way paralleling railroad tracks on which gondola carsrun.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a gondola carloader, moveable with respect to stationary gondola cars, which does notrequire a right of way adjacent to the railroad track on which thegondola cars are run.

A known method of loading ore cars, illustrated in U.S. Pat. No.2,906,212 to Hayes, employs specially designed ore cars providing arunway on their top faces on which a loader vehicle may be driven. Theloader vehicle is equipped with track laying wheels.

The loader is not, however, adapted for use on conventional gondola carssince the tops of conventional gondola cars do not form nearlycontinuous runways when the cars are adjacent one another on a railroadtrack.

Accordingly, it is yet another object of the present invention toprovide a loader for conventional gondola cars which is moveable acrossthe tops of adjacent gondola cars without modification of the cars toprovide a nearly continuous runway across the tops of the cars.

An apparatus for moving across the tops of adjacent gondola cars isshown in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 739,283, filed Nov. 5, 1976,by Thomas E. Leonard and Walter F. Buckner. The apparatus disclosedtherein is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of this application and is describedin detail below. In that apparatus, a loader chassis is provided withpairs of spanning legs at the front and rear of the chassis. Eachspanning leg is pivotably mounted at one end thereof, to the chassis.Flanged wheels are rotatably carried by the spanning legs at endsopposite from the ends mounted to the chassis. The wheeled spanning legsare adapted to span gaps between adjacent cars and support the chassisas it is moved across gaps between the gondola cars.

It has been determined that the apparatus of Leonard and Buckner isdifficult to fabricate and operate due in part to the configuration andmounting of the spanning legs.

Accordingly, it is yet a further object of the present invention toprovide a gondola car loader with easily fabricated and easily operatedmeans for facilitating movement across the gaps between adjacent gondolacars.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from theclaims and from the following description when read in conjunction withthe appended drawings

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art gondola car loader positioned onadjacent gondola cars;

FIG. 2 is a plan cross-sectional view of the gondola car loader of FIG.1 taken along line 2--2;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the present inventionpositioned on adjacent gondola cars;

FIG. 4 is a plan cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The Prior Art Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The prior art invention of Leonard and Buckner, disclosed in theirpatent application Ser. No. 739,283 filed Nov. 5, 1976, relates to ameans and method of moving a wheeled apparatus along the upper edges ofgenerally lateral parallel walls of adjacent, gondola cars with gapstherebetween. As shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of the invention is agondola car loader including a wheeled chassis moveable along top edgesof adjacent gondola cars in a direction of the railroad track on whichthe cars are located. Spanning legs, pivotably mounted to the chassis,may be adapted to span gaps between adjacent cars and support thechassis as it is moved across the gaps between the cars. A hoist, crane,conveyor, or other suitable loading and unloading means may be carriedby the chassis.

With reference to FIG. 1, the prior art gondola car loader 10 is shownpositioned on two adjacent conventional gondola cars 12 and 14. Thegondola cars 12 and 14 are located on railroad track 16. The cars areseparated by a gap 18 which is at least the length of the couplingmechanism of the cars. The bodies of cars 12 and 14 include cargo beds20, surrounded on four sides by vertical walls. Vertical side walls 22of the cars are generally parallel to the railroad track 16. Verticalend walls 24 of the cars are generally perpendicular to the forward andreverse directions of motion (arrow 26) of the cars along the railroadtrack 16.

The prior art gondola car loader includes a chassis 28, carrying wheels30. The wheels 30 are shown engaging an upper edge portion 32 of thevertical side walls 22 of the gondola car 12. The wheels 30 may beflanged to facilitate guiding the loader in the directions of arrows 26.Motors 34 may be provided to drive wheels 30 to propel the loader acrossthe tops of the gondola cars. Alternatively, a single motor may beemployed to drive the wheels 30 and to power hydraulic mechanismsassociated with the loader.

Spanning legs 36 and 36A may be pivotably mounted to the chassis 28 atopposite ends thereof. The spanning legs 36 and 36A may carry flangedwheels 36 and 38A, respectively, which wheels are adapted to engageupper edge portions 32 of the side walls 22 of the gondola cars. In oneconfiguration, the wheels 38 and 38A may be flanged at both axial endsthereof to facilitate guiding the loader in the directions of arrow 26.Hydraulic cylinders 40 and 40A, operatively connected to the spanninglegs 36 and 36A, respectively, may be provided to selectively pivot thespanning legs to bridge gaps such as gap 18 between adjacent cars. Thespanning legs 36 and 36A and their associated wheels 38 and 38A may beoperative to guide and support the chassis 28 as it is driven across thegaps between adjacent cars. Rotatable tires 42 and 42A, pivotablymounted to the chassis 28, may be provided to selectively engage theinner sides of walls 22 of the cars to guide the loader and inhibitmovement of the loader in a horizontal direction perpendicular to therailroad track 16. Means 44 for engaging and moving cargo may berotatably mounted on the chassis 28. This means may be a knuckle boomloader 46 as shown in FIG. 1. The knuckle boom loader may includepivotably engaged arms 48 and 50, selectively positionable by means ofhydraulic cylinders 52 and 54. Hydraulically actuated grasping means 56may be provided at the end of knuckle boom 46 for selectively engagingcargo 58.

In operation, the loader 10 may be positioned entirely atop a singlegondola car and employed to load and unload cargo within the reach ofthe knuckle boom 46. When it becomes necessary to move the loader 10 toa new position so that boom 46 may reach or move cargo, the loader maybe driven along the tops of the gondola cars and across the gapstherebetween. This movement of the loader 10 may be accomplished in thefollowing way. The loader may be driven in a direction parallel to therailroad track 16 along the tops of the gondola cars, which direction,for purposes of this discussion, will be assumed to be toward the rightwith respect to FIG. 1. When the wheel 38A of the right spanning leg 36Areaches the vertical wall 24 of the gondola car 12, which isperpendicular to the direction of motion of the loader, the hydrauliccylinder 40A may be actuated to pivot the spanning leg 36A to disengagewheel 38A from the car 12. The right guide tire 42A may be pivotedupward into the chassis to prevent the tire from contacting the wall 24of the car. The loader may be driven a suitable further distance untilthe wheel 38A has crossed the gap between the cars and is located overthe next adjacent car. Subsequently, the spanning leg 36A may be loweredand guided as necessary to engage wheel 38A with the upper edge portion32 of the gondola car 14. The spanning leg 36A may be rotated clockwiseto support an end of the loader on the car 14 so that the chassis 28 maybe driven across the gap 18.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional plan view of the prior artgondola car loader is shown taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2,like structures are identified by the numerals used in FIG. 1.

The Embodiment of the Present Invention Shown in FIGS. 3 and 4

An embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 3, comprises anapparatus for loading and unloading gondola railroad cars positionedadjacent one another on a railroad track. The loader may include achassis movable along the top edges of adjacent gondola cars in thedirection of the railroad track on which the cars are located. Fourbeams, pivotably mounted near their centers to the chassis, may eachcarry wheels for engaging the top edges of the cars. Advantageously,each beam carries a wheel at both ends thereof. The beams are adapted tobe pivoted to selectively engage the wheels with the top edges ofimmediately adjacent cars to support the chassis, thereby facilitatingmotion of the chassis across the gaps between adjacent cars. A knuckleboom, for loading and unloading cargo from the cars, may be rotatablymounted on the chassis.

With reference to FIG. 3, a gondola car loader 90 is shown positioned ontwo adjacent conventional gondola cars 92 and 94. The gondola cars 92and 94 are movable along a railroad track 96 in either of the directionsindicated by a double headed arrow 98. The cars are separated by a gap100 which is typically the length of the coupling mechanisms of thecars. The bodies of the cars 92 and 94 include cargo beds 102. The cargobeds are surrounded on four sides by vertical walls. Vertical side walls104 of the cars are generally parallel to the railroad tracks 96.Vertical end walls 106 of the cars are generally perpendicular to thevertical side walls 104.

The gondola car loader may include a chassis 108 on which is mounted ahoist, crane, conveyor or other suitable loading and unloading devicesuch as a knuckle boom 110.

Elongated members or beams 112 and 112A may be pivotably mounted to thechassis at the centers thereof for rotation about axes 114 and 114A,perpendicular to the plane of the figure. Wheels 116 may be rotatablymounted at either end of the beams 112 and 112A. The wheels 116 may beflanged to facilitate guiding the loader along the edges of the lateralwalls of the cars in the directions of the arrow 98. Hydraulic orelectrical motors 118 may be provided to drive the wheel 116 to propelthe loader across the tops of the gondola cars. Advantageously, onlyforwardmost wheels 136 and rearwardmost wheels 137 may be driven. (Inconnection with the description of FIGS. 3 and 4 the convention will beadopted that the word "forward" means rightward with respect to theFigures; it being understood, however, that the apparatus is capable ofmovement in either the forward or rearward direction and that theapparatus may have no front or rear, in that it may have no preferreddirection of movement.) Alternatively, a single motor may be employed todrive the wheels 116 and to power hydraulic mechanisms associated withthe loader.

Advantageously, four beams may be pivotably mounted to the chassis 108,two beams mounted on a forward portion of the chassis (beams 112A) andtwo beams mounted on a rearward portion of the chassis (beams 112).Hydraulic cylinders 120 and 120A, may be operatively connected to thebeams to facilitate movement of the loader across the gaps between thegondola cars. The beams 112 and 112A may be provided with downwardlydepending members 122 which may engage the outer sides of the walls 104of the cars to guide the loader and inhibit movement of the loader in ahorizontal direction perpendicular to the railroad track 96. Anapparatus 124, for engaging and moving cargo, very be rotatably mountedon chassis 108. The apparatus 124 may be a knuckle boom loader havingpivotably engaged arms 126 and 128, selectively positionable by means ofhydraulic cylinders 130 and 132. Hydraulically actuated grasping means134 may be provided at the end of the knuckle boom for selectivelyengaging a cargo within the gondola cars or adjacent thereto.

In operation, the loader 90 may be positioned entirely atop a singlegondola car and employed to load and unload cargo within the reach ofthe knuckle boom. When it becomes necessary to move the loader, forexample to reach cargo beyond the range of the knuckle boom, the loadermay be driven along the tops of the gondola cars and across the gapstherebetween. This movement of the loader 90 may be accomplished in thefollowing way. The loader may be driven in a direction parallel to therailroad track 96 along the tops of the gondola cars, which direction,for the purposes of this discussion, will be assumed to be in theforward direction. When the forwardmost wheels 136 of the beam 112Areach the vertical wall 106 of the gondola car 92, the hydrauliccylinder 120A may be actuated to pivot the forward beams 112Acounterclockwise to raise the wheels 136, thereby disengaging the wheelsfrom the car 92. The counterclockwise pivoting of the beams 112A withrespect to the chassis 108 necessarily causes downward motion of therear wheel 138 of the forward beams 112A, whereby the forward end of thechassis is raised upward and supported by the wheels 138. The loader maybe driven a suitable further distance until the forwardmost wheels 136have crossed the gap 100 between the cars and are located over the nextadjacent car 94. Subsequently, the beams 112A may be pivoted in aclockwise direction so that the forward wheels 136 are loweredsufficiently to engage the upper edge portion 140 of the gondola car 94.The beam 112A may be further rotated in a clockwise direction so thatthe rear wheels 138 of the forward beams 112A are moved upwardly todisengage the car 92. The loader may then be driven a suitable furtherdistance forward until the rear wheels 138 of the forward beams may belowered onto the car by counterclockwise rotation of the beams 112A. Therear beams 112 may be pivoted in a similar fashion so that the loader 90may be moved further forward until it is supported entirely on the car94.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the gondola car loader 90 shown in FIG. 3wherein like structures are identified by the numerals used in FIG. 3.The chassis 108 may be supported on upper edge portions 140 of thegondola cars by means of the wheel carrying beams 112 and 112A.

The wheels carried by the beams 112 and 112A may be provided withflanges at their outer axial ends, such as the flanges 150. At least oneof the forwardmost or rearwardmost wheels, such as right forward wheel151, may be provided with frustoconical shaped flanges 152 and 154 atboth axial ends thereof separated by cylindrical portion 153. Wheel 151is thus adapted to center itself on the upper edge portions 140 of thecars, and guide the loader along said edge portions.

The forwardmost and rearwardmost wheels may be driven by motors 156. Themotors 156 may be coupled to the wheels by rotatable drive shafts 158and pinion gears 160 which engage drive gears 162 attached to theforwardmost and rearwardmost wheels. Advantageously, the drive gears 162may form a portion of the flange at the outer axial ends of theforwardmost and rearwardmost wheels.

In FIG. 4, the wheels carried by the rear beams 112 are shown engagingthe upper portions of car 92, while the wheels carried by the forwardbeams 112A engage the upper edge portions of the car 94. In thisconfiguration, the loader 90 bridges the gap 100 between the cars 92 and94.

The apparatus for engaging and moving cargo 124 may be mounted on thechassis 108 for rotation about axis 164, perpendicular to the plane ofthe Figure. The device for engaging and moving cargo may include aknuckle boom 166. The knuckle boom 166 may be dimensioned and located topermit it to reach cargo within the gondola car 94, within adjacentgondola cars, and/or on the ground along the railroad right of way. Theknuckle boom 124 and the motors 156 may be powered by an internalcombustion engine 168 carried by the chassis 108.

The operation of the gondola car loader shown in FIG. 4 will now bedescribed. For the purposes of this discussion, it will be assumed thatthe loader is initially positioned atop the car 92, and that all of theloader wheels are initially contacting the upper edges of the car 92.Forward movement of the loader across the tops of gondola cars iseffected by actuating at least one of the motors 158 to rotate the wheelto which it is operatively connected, thereby driving the loader alongthe top of the car 92. When the forward wheels 136 of the loader reachthe vertical end wall 106 of the car 92, the beams 112A may be pivotedcounterclockwise so that the forward wheel flanges will clear the endwall 106 as the loader is moved further forward. The counterclockwisemotion of the beams 112A also results in the loader being at leastpartially supported by the rear wheels 138 of the forward beam, to theexclusion of the forward wheels 136. The loader is then driven forwardand the forward beams 112A are rotated clockwise so that the forwardwheels are positioned on the top edge portions of the vertical sidewallsof the gondola car 94. The loader is then at least partially supportedon gondola car 94, and the loader may be driven across the gap asuitable distance so that only the wheels of the beams 112 remain incontact with the gondola car 92. The rear beams 112 may be rotated in asimilar manner and the loader driven further forward until the loader issupported entirely on the car 94.

The principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of thepresent invention have been described in the foregoing specification.The invention which is intended to be protected is not, however, to beconstrued as limited to the particular forms disclosed since these areto be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations andchanges may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for moving a wheeled vehicle along upperportions of lateral walls of adjacent, open-topped cars and over gapsbetween adjacent cars comprising the steps of:(a) positioning thevehicle with the wheels thereof supporting the vehicle on the lateralwalls of a first car; (b) moving the vehicle along the lateral walls ofthe first car; (c) pivoting a first member carrying a plurality ofvehicle wheels including a first leading wheel about an axisintermediate the leading wheel and another of the wheels, so that theleading wheel disengages the first car; (d) moving the vehicle until theleading wheel is positioned over a lateral wall of a second car; (e)pivoting the first member so that the leading wheel engages the lateralwall of the second car and the vehicle is at least partially supportedon the second car; (f) moving the vehicle across the gap between thefirst and second cars; (g) pivoting a second member carrying a pluralityof vehicle wheels including a second leading wheel about an axisintermediate the second leading wheel and another of the wheels, so thatthe second leading wheel disengages the first car; (h) moving thevehicle until the second leading wheel is positioned over a lateral wallof the second car; (i) pivoting the second member so that the secondleading wheel engages the lateral wall of the second car and the vehicleis supported on the second car; and (j) moving the vehicle until thevehicle is positioned on the lateral walls of the second car.
 2. Amethod for moving a wheeled vehicle including a chassis along upperportions of lateral walls of adjacent, open-topped cars and over gapsbetween adjacent cars comprising the steps of:(a) positioning thevehicle with the wheels thereof supporting the chassis on the lateralwalls of a first car; (b) moving the vehicle along the lateral walls ofthe first car; (c) pivoting a first member carrying a first leadingwheel and a first trailing wheel about an axis generally parallel to theaxes of rotation of the first leading and trailing wheels andintermediate the first leading and trailing wheels, so that the firsttrailing wheel moves downward with respect to the chassis and theleading wheel disengages the first car; (d) moving the vehicle until thefirst leading wheel is positioned over a lateral wall of a second car;(e) pivoting the first member so that the first leading wheel engagesthe lateral wall of the second car and the first trailing wheel movesupward with respect to the chassis whereby the vehicle is at leastpartially supported on the second car; (f) moving the vehicle across thegap between the first and second cars; (g) pivoting a second membercarrying a second leading wheel and a second trailing wheel about anaxis generally parallel to the axes of rotation of the second leadingand trailing wheels and intermediate the second leading and trailingwheels, so that the second trailing wheel moves downward with respect tothe chassis and the second leading wheel disengages the first car; (h)moving the vehicle until the second leading wheel is positioned over alateral wall of the second car; (i) pivoting the second member so thatthe second leading wheel engages the lateral wall of the second car andthe second trailing wheel moves upward with respect to the chassis anddisengages the first car whereby the vehicle is supported on the secondcar; and (j) moving the vehicle until the chassis is positioned over thesecond car.
 3. An apparatus moveable along the length of a plurality ofrailroad gondola cars positioned end to end comprising:a chassis; andmeans for supporting said chassis on upper edges of the walls of thecars and for facilitating movement of the chassis across gaps betweenimmediately adjacent cars, said means comprising:a first pair ofelongated beams mounted to a forward portion of said chassis, each ofsaid first pair of elongated beams carrying a plurality of wheels spacedalong the length thereof for engaging the upper edges of the walls ofthe cars, and each of said beams being selectively pivotable in asubstantially vertical plane with respect to the chassis at a pointintermediate two of said plurality of wheels about an axis generallyperpendicular to the length of the beam; and a second pair of elongatedbeams mounted to a rearward portion of said chassis, each of said secondpair of elongated beams carrying a plurality of wheels spaced along thelength thereof for engaging the upper edges of the walls of the cars,and each of said beams being selectively pivotable in a substantiallyvertical plane with respect to the chassis at a point intermediate twoof said plurality of wheels about an axis generally perpendicular to thelength of the beams.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprisinghydraulic means for independently and selectively pivoting said firstpair and said second pair of elongated beams.
 5. The apparatus of claim3 wherein one of said first pair of elongated beams carries a wheel atthe forward end thereof said wheel comprising:a first frustroconicalportion, the largest diameter thereof being axially outermost; acylindrical portion integral and coaxial with said first frustroconicalportion; and a second frustroconical portion integral and coaxial withsaid cylindrical portion, the largest circumference of said secondfrustroconical portion being located on a side of the wheel oppositefrom the largest circumference of said first frustroconical portion;whereby, said wheel is adapted to center itself on edges of lateralwalls of the gondola cars to guide the apparatus.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further comprising means for driving a forward wheel located ata forward end of one of the first pair of elongated beams and fordriving a rearward wheel located at a rearward end of at least one ofthe second pair of elongated beams.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 whereinsaid means for driving said wheels includes a toothed wheel coaxiallymounted to said wheels, the diameter of said toothed wheel being largerthan the diameter of the wheel to which the toothed wheel is coaxiallymounted.
 8. An apparatus moveable along the length of a plurality ofopen-topped railroad cars positioned end to end comprising:a chassis;and means for supporting said chassis on upper edges of the walls of thecar and for facilitating movement of the chassis across gaps betweenimmediately adjacent cars, said means comprising: a first pair ofelongated beams mounted to a forward portion of said chassis, each ofsaid first pair of elongated beams carrying a first leading wheel and afirst trailing wheel spaced along the length thereof for engaging theupper edges of the lateral walls of the cars, and each of said beamsbeing selectively pivotable with respect to the chassis at a pointintermediate said first leading and trailing wheels about an axisgenerally parallel to the axes of rotation of said first leading andtrailing wheels, wherein said first leading and trailing wheels arepivotable upwardly and downwardly with respect to the chassis asufficient amount so that the apparatus is selectively partiallysupportable on one of the first leading and trailing wheels to theexclusion of the other of said first leading and trailing wheels; and asecond pair of elongated beams mounted to a rearward portion of saidchassis, each of said second pair of elongated beams carrying a secondleading wheel and a second trailing wheel spaced along the lengththereof for engaging the upper edges of the lateral walls of the cars,and each of said beams being selectively pivotable with respect to thechassis at a point intermediate said second leading and trailing wheelsabout an axis generally parallel to the axes of rotation of said secondleading and trailing wheels, wherein said second leading and trailingwheels are pivotable upwardly and downwardly with respect to the chassisa sufficient amount so that the apparatus is selectively partiallysupportable on one of the second leading and trailing wheels to theexclusion of the other of said second leading and trailing wheels.
 9. Inan apparatus, moveable along upper edges of lateral walls of adjacentgondola cars and over gaps therebetween, including a wheeled means forsupporting said chassis on upper edges of the walls of the cars and forfacilitating movement of the chassis across gaps between immediatelyadjacent cars, the improvement wherein said supporting means comprises:afirst, forward elongated beam mounted to a forward portion of saidchassis, said elongated beam carrying a plurality of wheels spaced alongthe length thereof for engaging the upper edges of the walls of thecars, and said beam being selectively pivotable in a substantiallyvertical plane with respect to the chassis at a point intermediate twoof said plurality of wheels about an axis generally perpendicular to thelength of the beam; and a second, rearward elongated beam mounted to arearward portion of said chassis, said elongated beam carrying aplurality of wheels spaced along the length thereof for engaging theupper edges of the walls of the cars, and said beam being selectivelypivotable in a substantially vertical plane with respect to the chassisat a point intermediate two of said plurality of wheels about an axisgenerally perpendicular to the length of the beam.